In sickness
It was life changing, there was no better way to express it
WHEN deadly sepsis struck after a string of health problems, doctors put Kriss Jones into a coma and gave him just a three per cent chance of survival.
For the next three weeks, his organs failing from infection, Kriss’s body fought a silent battle for life.
At his bedside throughout, devastated partner Charlotte Pilling talked to him defiantly about their future together – willing him to win his fight.
Things were so bad that on three separate occasions sobbing Charlotte, 22, was warned to say goodbye to the love of her young life as he ebbed away before her.
To the astonishment of doctors, 30-year-old Kriss rallied every time.
And when he woke, plasterer Kriss had one wish left – asking loyal Charlotte to marry him and promising her the white wedding of her dreams.
“What happened to me was such a life changing experience there was no better way of expressing how I felt,” says Kriss.
“She had showed her commitment to me and I wanted to show her I loved her – and was just as committed as she was.”
This week the sun shone as Kriss’s wish came true.
He admits: “I was so nervous waiting for Charlotte to walk down the aisle, but when I saw her she looked beautiful and I couldn’t wait to marry her.”
Radiant
As Charlotte, radiant in her fairytale white wedding gown, insists she “couldn’t be happier”, her joy bursts through.
“When Kriss was in hospital it was heartbreaking, I was constantly in tears,” she recalls. “When he was in a coma I stayed in the hospital overnight because they said it was touch and go.
“I just wanted to be with him all the time. I was told to say goodbye to Kriss three times. But I told his family and friends he would make it – because he promised he’d never leave me.
“When we were saying our vows today I thought back to how ill my husband was. It was so emotional.”
Kriss’s health problems began as a teenager, when he started to struggle to digest food properly.
He had tests for a vast range of conditions, including Crohn’s Disease – but doctors could not get to the root of what was causing him so much pain.
In his 20s his work and social life began to suffer as problems with his stomach and bowel worsened.
“When I was about 22 I collapsed at my mate’s house,” he recalls. “I had an operation but doctors couldn’t find any kind of blockage.
“I soldiered on and managed to get up a good bit of weight until two years ago, when I started losing weight and my skin discoloured.”
In April last year, Kriss collapsed and was rushed to hospital. He was being sick and screaming in pain. “I truly believed I was dying,” he says.
Medics at Arrowe Park Hospital, in